ABSTRACT
This article reports the effects of attending an elementary full-service community school (FSCS) on a variety of student academic outcomes in high school. The focal FSCS, Key Elementary, serves students in grades K-5 in a diverse southeastern New York State (NYS) school district. The academic performance of students, born between 1991 and 1996, who attended Key Elementary FSCS is compared with a similar group of students who attended a traditional elementary school in the same district. Overall, students who attended Key Elementary FSCS scored higher on most of the NYS Regents examinations, were more likely to graduate with NYS Advanced Designation high school diplomas, and had higher average cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) and SAT I scores than students who attended the comparison school. Students who attended the elementary FSCS also took more AP exams and were more likely to indicate their intention to enroll in a four-year college. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed.
